History Main / FriendlyNeighborhoodSpider

* * In ''Vixen'', a short story in the ''Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar'' anthology book ''No True Way'', [[Literature/LastHeraldMageTrilogy Vanyel Ashkevron]] is temporarily BroughtDownToNormal while a monster attacks a village. His Healer friend calls for help, and a GiantSpider answers, fighting off the monster. She then explains that she'd just lost the cave home she'd been hibernating in and decided if she was going to freeze to death anyway she might as well die doing something good. The villagers, previously holding back in fear of her, are moved to adopt her as the village guardian and name her Melody.

* ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brachypelma_hamorii Brachypelma Hamorii]], aka the "Mexican redknee tarantula" is also a very docile species of tarantula that is similarly a hand-size creature that can easily be handled by humans.

* Invoked with ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'', a superhero with a [[AnimalThemedSuperbeing spider-theme]], who also has the RedBaron of being "[[TropeNamer Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man]]", usually being nice to people and being the savior of New York countless times. Also, this is extended to various of his spider-allies as well as his AlternateContinuities alter-ego (as well as his allies like ComicBook/SpiderGwen).

Contrast SpidersAreScary, the {{inversion}} of this trope, and ScaryScorpions, since scorpions are often portrayed as the UnpleasantAnimalCounterpart to spiders. Some SpiderPeople can be seen as this. A FriendToBugs usually has one as a friend, as might an AnimalLover. SubTrope of GoodAnimalsEvilAnimals, in which the spiders are usually [[FunnyAnimals Funny]] and/or {{Talking Animal}}s, as well DarkIsNotEvil, in which spiders are usually being of color black or another dark colour.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'': The Anadi are a race of sapient, talking, [[BigCreepyCrawlies human-sized spiders]] native to the Mwangi Expanse. They are a generally nonviolent and cooperative people who do their best to be comforting and accommodating to make up for the instinctive revulsion that most people feel towards spiders, and have developed magic that allows them to take humanoid form in order to avoid frightening others.

[[caption-width-right:350: Those PuppyDogEyes let you know this is a [[Franchise/SpiderMan friendly neighborhood spider, man.]]]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/Madagascar1'', Alex finds a big hairy spider on his shoulders. The only thing the spider does is give him a big friendly smile and a cheery "Well, howdy-do", but Alex freaks out anyway.

* Invoked with ''Franchise/SpiderMan'', a superhero with a [[AnimalThemedSuperbeing spider-theme]], who also has the RedBaron of being "[[TropeNamer Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man]]", usually being nice to people and being the savior of New York countless times. Also, this is extended to various of his spider-allies as well as his AlternateContinuities alter-ego (as well as his allies like ComicBook/SpiderGwen).

* In ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'', Spinarak from the [[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Second Generation]], Joltik from the [[VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite Fifth Generation]] and Dewpider from the [[VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon Seventh Generation]] are Pokémon depictions of spiders that actually are cute and nice, also seen in their appearances in [[Anime/PokemonTheSeries the anime]]. However, their evolutions (Ariados, Galvantula and Araquanid respectively) may look slightly scary, though not that much compared to most examples, but in the end all depends of their trainers and generally are cute in behavior.

* In ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'', Spinarak from the [[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Second Generation]], Joltik from the [[VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite Fifth Generation]] and Dewpider from the [[VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon Seventh Generation]] are Pokémon depictions of spiders that actually are cute and nice, also seen in their appearances in [[Anime/{{Pokemon}} the anime]]. However, their evolutions (Ariados, Galvantula and Araquanid respectively) may look slightly scary, though not that much compared to most examples, but in the end all depends of their trainers and generally are cute in behavior.

** In ''A Midnight Clear'', in the later anthology ''Seasons'', Melody has had eight spiderlings that the village has eagerly adopted, finding MundaneUtility applications for their silk and letting them have first crack at animals killed for their pelts, since the spiderlings liquefy the animals' insides and slurp them down leaving the skins intact. Melody and most of her children hibernate for the winter but Harmony and Rhapsody are awake and wearing sweaters and booties knitted for them by the village. Then bandits attack, and the two lamb-sized spiderlings spring to defend their home... by envenomating the bandits so they die horribly, and [[ToServeMan consuming their insides]]. Vanyel, visiting, is rather concerned that the sweet, cuddly, childlike young spiders are willing to ''eat people'', but the villagers wave aside that concern.

* Two of the ''Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar'' anthology books, ''No True Way'' and ''Seasons'', have short stories involving giant psychic spiders. In the first, a homeless giant spider answers the human characters' call for help, reasoning that it's better to die doing something noble than to freeze to death. Her life is then saved, [[Literature/LastHeraldMageTrilogy Vanyel Ashkevron]] works a spell to allow her to speak verbally, and the village she saves adopts her as their champion. In ''Seasons'', she's had children and she and most of them are hibernating for the winter, but two of them, lamb-sized and wearing sweaters knitted by the villagers, help against a bandit attack.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Madagascar}}'', Alex finds a big hairy spider on his shoulders. The only thing the spider does is give him a big friendly smile and a cheery "Well, howdy-do", but Alex freaks out anyway.

* ''Webcomic/QuestionableContent'' has [[https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2334 Gordon]] the [[RidiculouslyHumanRobots AnthroPC]], a congenial AI who doesn't quite understand that his cartoonish mini-SpiderTank chassis is pure NightmareFuel to a lot of his clients.

* In Myth/AfricanMythology (specifically, that of the Akan peoples of Ghana and the Ivory Coast), Anansi the Spider is a TricksterGod who is generally the protagonist in his stories, and is usually regarded as benign or beneficial. A few stories cast him as more of an UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist, but he's never truly villainous.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Madagascar}}'', Alex finds a big hairy spider on his shoulders. The only thing the spider does is give him a big friendly smile and a cheery "Well, howdy-do", but Alex freaks out anyway. [[spoilers: Fortunately, Alex's freaking out ends up scaring some fossas that were planning to eat Mort.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Madagascar}}'', Alex finds a big hairy spider on his shoulders. The only thing the spider does is give him a big friendly smile and a cheery "Well, howdy-do", but Alex freaks out anyway. Fortunately, Alex's freaking out ends up scaring some fossas that were planning to eat Mort.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Madagascar}}'', Alex finds a big hairy spider on his shoulders. The only thing the spider does is give him a big friendly smile and a cheery "Well, howdy-do", but Alex freaks out anyway.